Sleeping (almost) inside the runway, my experience at the Marriott London Heathrow

Those who travel often know that hotels near airports Are designed for travelers staying from a few hours to a day at most, except in rare cases in fact they are booked by those who arrive late in the evening or have an early flight the next morning.

Compared to other times, I had much more time and my flight did not leave early in the morning, so I could have also opted for a hotel in central London, but this summer, prices in the City have skyrocketed. Add to that the fact that on the same date we were in the midst of the Queen's Jubilee and the last weekend of Wimbledon, and you can imagine the rates.

Reservation

As usual, I booked through the official app, only way to be guaranteed benefits and accumulate Bonvoy points. Never have I been happier than today to be able to take advantage of an offer from American Express that allowed me to have a instant cashback of 100€ against 300€ expenditure.

The cheapest room started at 299€., a real drain, but in central London you could not find anything for less than 350€, with peaks well over 1000 pounds. So thanks to Amex I managed to save money, also because the points accumulated are on the total amount spent and not net of the discount.

I recently switched from Gold, the level included in the fee Annual American Express Platinum, at Platinum. This level gives me breakfast, points and/or bonuses with each stay, and especially access to hotel lounges.

Location

All the major chains have hotels located on the road that runs parallel to LHR's outermost taxiway. If you are looking for the one with the best view, it is definitely the Renaissance, also of the Marriott group. Also in this area is the Moxy I visited at the beginning of the year.

Hotels can be reached by public shuttle, cab, or shuttles offered by the hotels.

PS unlike what happens in most of the world, very few at Heathrow offer the free shuttle for guests, and the Marriott is not one of them.

It is possible to book transfers in the hotel's electric cars, only to find out later in the morning that the car will be any uber and not the advertised electric Jaguars.

The hotel

The structure is very beautiful: an immense cube of glass and steel with the lobby completely open, as if it were a covered plaza. So much so that a number of rooms face not the outside but the lobby.

Also on the ground floor are the restaurant, a small souvenir shop, and a buffer point, I have no idea if still operational since they have almost disappeared as a travel requirement now.

As in all squares there are seats and places to have a coffee or wait for friends to be ready to go out.

The ground floor also houses the M Club, which is the executive lounge dedicated to executive room guests or those who hold at least the Platinum level.

Check-in and room

Transactions done very quickly, I had booked a basic room and was given a superior room because of the status.

My room was on the 5th and top floor, unfortunately no view of the runway. It was one of those with a view of the hotel's inner plaza, reminded me a lot of the cabins on cruise ships such as the Harmony of the Seas, which, among other types, has rooms that overlook the very interior of the ship.

Well-appointed room with the standard equipment for this category of hotel. King bed, sofa, nespresso machine and smart TV.

The bathroom was also what you would expect from a Marriott hotel.

Perhaps the view of the inside of the hotel was the strangest thing about the whole room, but being on the fifth floor there was also no privacy hazard felt. Moreover, being the whole outer wall of glass, one could still catch a glimpse of the planes on the runway.

I didn't have time to drop in or take a dip in the pool, but it is one of the amenities offered by this hotel-it might be perfect for relaxing after a long flight or a stressful day around London.

M Club

This was probably the least beautiful part of the hotel. The lounge is nice aesthetically, but it was absolutely insufficient in terms of the proposal.

When I arrived around 7:30 p.m., the buffet was practically empty, of savory items there were just some cheeses and crackers and then slices of cake with cookies. Enough. Nothing to say about the drinks, on the other hand, but the beauty of taking advantage of the lounge is precisely that you can dine (or almost dine) inside without having to go to the hotel restaurant.

Food & Beverage

I did not have breakfast in the morning, but tried the restaurant for dinner. The proposal is from an Italian restaurant, there is also pizza.

As a good Italian abroad, not to be mistaken, I headed for a classic bacon burger with fries, an evergreen that almost never leaves you disappointed. It wasn't the best sandwich of my life, but I can confidently say I've had worse.

In conclusion

At these prices it is definitely overpriced, but if the cost of rooms is at this level everywhere, it is difficult to find alternative solutions by targeting chain hotels such as Marriott and Hilton.

• hotels near airport